Serenity Valley (6 page)

The hold’s main centerpiece is the
great house, originally built in ancient times, but added onto and
improved by the following generations. The main house is
constructed of heavy stone removed from the fields and pastureland.
Lord Goodwin owns a quarry at the base of the Enola Mountains, and
all roofing is of slate rock. No wood or thatched roofs are allowed
at the hold, stables, or outbuildings. The main house has a small
stable attached to it for personal and visitor use, but the main
stable is apart from the house and used for breeding, birthing, and
early foal turnout for the charger horse line. The main stable has
over two hundred stalls of various size and purpose. Another
smaller stable, around one hundred stalls, is used to produce a
lighter, multipurpose horse line of rounceys. Rounceys are light,
swift horses for riding and often used as light armor battle
horses. Other stables are used for the various work beasts in
residence. Almost completely self-sufficient, the hold has its own
crop fields, cattle herds, and a number of trade crafts on-site. A
small army of managers are charged with the everyday operations and
monitoring of tenants. Eventually, everything ends up on the master
accountant’s desk, where ledgers and records are maintained and
monitored. Problems do arise, but are usually resolved in short
order by the competent staff, who were born on the property,
groomed and educated to step into their parent’s position. When the
time comes, the professional managers’ various children take over
without interruption. The same is true in other areas of
operations, ranging from goat herding to kitchen staff. It is
believed that some people have been born, lived their lives, and
died without ever leaving De Ferrier Hold lands. I feel Serenity
Valley to be a fitting name, as one could truly find serenity in
this place, and Lord Goodwin truly cares for his people.

I have great respect for Lord Goodwin.
He is not without fault. After all, my lord is a horse trader, and
the association between greed and good business deals is balanced
on a fine blade. Although a trained battle horse fetches seven
hundred to eight hundred times what a normal riding horse would
fetch, the price seems to vary based on how badly a customer wants
it and how much he has in his money pouch. I know for fact that one
nobleman purchased several chargers and needed to sign a loan note
for travel expenses to get home. That was bad enough, but my lord
charged interest on the note. I couldn’t help but feel bad for the
poor man, even though he returned the next year for additional
horses. My lord’s most valued virtue is that he cares for his
people and will help a servant the same as he would lend aid to an
important tenant. The only thing he loves more than his people is
his cherished Lady Bella.

It is said that my lord met the exotic
Lady Bella on a trip to the extreme south of the continent. Her
father, the King of Ackmer, had sent her by way of sea to a
southern port to receive and pay for the prize chargers the king
wished to use in his breeding program. It was love at first sight
for the two of them, and Lord Goodwin sailed home with Lady Bella
to ask for her hand. Lady Bella had been schooled in the common
language and served as interrupter, which is good or Lord Goodwin
may not have survived the introduction. The king refused the
request for marriage. The day Lord Goodwin was scheduled to leave,
he returned the king’s money paid for the horses and told him that
the horses were a gift of friendship. He would return every year
until his death to visit the king and Lady Bella in hopes that the
king would someday change his mind. This surprised the king, as
well as Lady Bella, who collapsed in front of her father in tears.
The king reversed his decision, and a wedding was quickly planned
now that the king was assured Goodwin wanted to marry his daughter
for love alone.

The king didn’t care about the money;
he spent more than the cost of the horses on the wedding feast. It
seems when a royal wedding takes place in Ackmer, the entire nation
is invited. Extravagant wedding gifts were given, which amounted to
a rather large fortune. When it came time to leave, Lady Bella and
the lord selected only one chest, filled with gold bullion. They
asked the king's permission to leave the rest in his safekeeping,
for if they should ever need it. Two years after the marriage, Lady
Bella returned home for a visit, and rumors say that she had the
fortune moved to a coastal sea port and deposited with the Knights
of the Templar. It is not known how much was deposited, but it has
been there for some twelve years drawing interest, which the
Templar deposits into her accounts. Lady Bella continues to return
home every two years to visit her family and check on her
investments. In all appearances, the lady is an educated and
gracious wife of a nobleman, but I know there is something odd,
dangerous, and secretive about her.

The day after Demon was born, the lady
came to view him as promised, a day I cannot forget.

As I was leaving Demon’s stall, I
turned after latching the door and was shocked half to death to
find Lady Bella standing not two feet in front of me. I could not
mistake the lady’s fine purple cloak and white dress as she seemed
to float in front of me. Her jet black hair strayed in the light
breeze, and there was no missing her bright amber eyes—piercing
eyes.

“Ah, young Master Rogue, how are you
this morning?”

“I am well, my lady, and may I say it
is an honor to have your fine beauty within our humble stables this
morning.”

The lady started giggling. “You
flatter me always, Gamel. Is the colt here?”

“Yes, my lady, he is.” In order to see
who I was talking to, Demon stuck his head over the stall and took
a good look at Lady Bella.

“He is very large, Gamel; two days
old, and his head towers over me.”

“Yes, my lady, I fear he may grow to
19 hands or better.”

“Oh my, you will need a ladder to
mount him.”

“I haven’t worked out that problem
yet, my lady.”

“Consider training him to kneel down
in front, Gamel. All of my father’s personal horses kneel for
mounting. If you start his training early, it will be much easier.
It can be accomplished by training a touch spot or by voice
command. When you get ready to start the training, let me know, and
I will help you.”

“Thank you, my lady, I will. I had no
idea you were so knowledgeable about horses.”

“We are known as people of the horse.
I have been around horses since early childhood days.” She paused a
moment before she continued. “Gamel, may we sit for a bit? I would
like to talk to you.”

“Yes, my lady, certainly. Where would
you like to go?”

“Right here would be fine for now.” To
my surprise, Lady Bella promptly sat down on one of the casks at
the makeshift table.

“Are you sure this will be okay, my
lady?”

“Seems very comfortable to
me.”

A bit hesitant, I sat down on the cask
opposite her. Demon was very interested in our activities and moved
as close as he could, stretching his neck over the stall
door.

“It seems that your charge wants to be
part of our conversation,” she said, her tone amused. “He has just
filled his gut and should be asleep in a few minutes, my
lady.”

She chuckled quietly. “You
have a special gift with the animals. In my country, you would be
called
Animal Seer.
It is someone who can connect with the emotions of animals.
Tell me, Gamel, what is your impression of me? Not as Lady of the
Hold, but personally? Please, be honest.”

“Good lady, it is not my place to
judge you.”

“Ah, but it is your place if I request
it, is this not true? I require you to answer honestly.”

I felt my days in beautiful Serenity
Valley were about to be shortened greatly. I said, “As you wish, my
lady. Although I find you most beautiful, virtuous, and endearing,
there is something about you that I cannot place, something not
quite right, that makes me wary and cautious.”

“You mean like my scary eyes, or
appearing out of nowhere, knowing things before they happen, or
making things suddenly appear?”

“Ahhh, yes, my lady, those type of
things.”

Demon joined the conversation with a
low whinny. After glancing at him briefly, she said, “Gamel, I am
third child of a most powerful king in my mother country. With such
position comes powerful enemies. Children of the king are likely
targets for kidnapping and assassination, so I have been trained in
the arts necessary to survive. I have been taught from an early age
by masters of various disciplines. My father is rich beyond
comprehension and hired the best instructors from far reaches of
the known world. Deception, illusion, evasion, self-defense, and
weapon training were taught from the age of five years. Other
studies included languages, numbers, medicine, and world history.
These are equally important in the quest to stay among the living.
What your senses are telling you is that you cannot understand
something, and therefore, something is terribly wrong.”

“So all those things you did were
illusions or tricks?”

Demon added his question with a light
nicker, and Lady Bella smiled. “It seems Sir Demon is listening and
understanding our conversation.”

“Do you really think so?” I asked,
delighted.

Smiling, she answered, “Demon is in
tune with your emotions through your movements, gestures, and the
tone of your voice. Even your scent allows him to read your state
of mind and react like you do. This is the bond that the two of you
share, part of you in the world of the horse, and Demon partially
in the human world.”

“That explains many things, my lady,
but what of the things you have been able to do?” Lady Bella
trained her piercing stare on me, and a shiver traveled up my spine
and made my scalp itch.

“What you just experienced was simply
a tactic to make someone extremely uncomfortable and put them off
guard in a situation,” she informed me.

“But, my lady, how did you appear from
thin air in the great hall last night?”

Releasing her eye lock on me, she
smiled again. “My beautiful new polished floor serves to do more
than provide a clean walking surface; it reflects like a pool of
water. I saw your reflection and stationed myself in such a way as
to shock you. I have to admit it was a lot of fun.”

It was a perfectly reasonable
explanation.

“But what about your sudden appearance
in the study with all knowledge of the conversation that you were
not present for?”

“Gamel, the main house is ancient,
with layer after layer of construction. Many passageways were
incorporated into the structure to allow servant travel and, I
suspect, spying on prominent guests of the hold.”

“But, my lady, how did the coins get
into my pocket?”

She was still smiling when she
answered, “When I placed my hand on your shoulder, you were
distracted. I slipped the coins in your pocket with my other
hand.”

At this point, I chuckled, but then
remembered something else that would not be so easily explained.
“Ah, but, my lady, please explain how you knew how the wager would
be cast with three votes for gray against my one black vote?”
Perceiving my excitement, Demon nickered loudly and shook his head
up and down as if playing. Distracted by his antics, we both
started to laugh.

“That was the grand moment of the
night. I had been spying on my husband and Sayer when they
concocted a plan to reward you without your knowledge. Believing
the colt to be black, they would spot you the coin for the bet that
you would surely win, therefore rewarding you without dealing with
your objections. I simply joined in and was actually able to amaze
even my husband.”

I suddenly felt deflated, without any
hope of winning this debate. Demon must have sensed it, as he made
his way to a stall corner. Loud snoring soon emanated from that
direction. “My lady, does the lord know about your particular, um,
abilities?”

Lady Bella giggled coyly. “Oh, he
knows, but he can’t always explain everything I do. It is a game we
play. He acts totally confused by this magical creature he has
captured for a wife. I play the innocent sorceress, which makes for
exciting—what is a good word—relations.” I must have turned a
bright red. I could feel my whole body get hot in an instant. Lady
Bella looked at me and started laughing. “Sorry, did I make you
uncomfortable?”

“That may have been just a bit too
much information, my lady.”

“I often forget that you are still a
boy, young Gamel. You are very mature and intelligent for your age,
as well as being tall as a grown man. I trust you to keep our
conversation in confidence.”

“Yes, my lady, of course.”

The stable workers were starting to
return from the afternoon meal in the eating hall.

As the various workers resumed their
duties, they noticed Lady Bella and me in conversation. Whispering
and soft voices could be heard, but no one dared come close enough
to intrude. Bella asked, “So, young Gamel, do you understand now
that what you perceived as some kind of sorcery was simply the
result of being attuned to one’s environment and taking advantage
of those who are not?”